Menu

Cornwall Music Therapy Trust is a charity

which, through partnership schemes, supports those suffering from mental or physical illness, those living with disabilities or with emotional or behavioural problems, or those in need of rehabilitation as a result of such illness, by the provision of music therapy.

This work is entirely dependant on grants and fundraising and receives no government funding.

Since 2008 the Cornwall Music Therapy Trust has contributed over £300,000 for the direct provision of Music Therapy projects

Latest News

Musical Youth Project Cornwall Music Therapy Trust is grateful to have received £9,250 from the National Lottery Awards for All programme on 30 January, 2019. The funding will be used to provide music therapy sessions to disadvantaged children. The project aims to engage children through music, build self-esteem, and improve mental wellbeing in Camborne and […]

Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Charity has awarded a grant to Cornwall Music Therapy Trust, to delivery music therapy to improve the lives of sick children and babies on the paediatric and neo-natal wards within Royal Cornwall Hospitals. Since 2003, Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Charity has given over £2 million in grants to 312 projects in 100 […]

The 22nd annual Cadgwith Folk Festival, held on 15 July, delighted crowds and seagulls alike and raised £500 for the Cornwall Music Therapy Trust. Organiser Dave Hearne remains delighted at the growing popularity of the annual event: ‘the singing, playing and dancing goes on all day Saturday and now spills over to Sunday – you can’t […]

The Cornwall Music Therapy Trust is supremely grateful for recent donations received from: Tanner Trust Duchy Health Charity These grants are vital for therapy to be delivered across the county, and we extend our thanks to both organisations.

In December 2016, the Duchy Singers performed their 26th annual charity Messiah in St Mary’s Church, Penzance. This was a wonderful concert enjoyed by everyone who attended. The ninety strong chorus and four soloists performed together with the St. Mewan Sinfonia, and the concert was conducted by Nigel Wicken. We were delighted that their nominated charity for 2016 was the […]

A concert of high energy folk music in Chacewater Village Hall on 25 November raised £700 for the Cornwall Music Therapy Trust. Four rousing Cornish bands brought the crowd of 160 to their feet and had them dancing joyfully to jigs, reels, hornpipes and polkas together with belting out some great Cornish songs. The line-up […]

Big Beach Day September 2016: Health Promotion Service outreach and workshop event This year’s Big Beach Day took place on the vast sands of Polzeath beach on a breezy yet summery day. Ruth Boulton ran an on-beach music therapy group session supported by CMTT for over 30 adults with their support workers. Other Activities included […]

For the eighth year running Penzance’s Golowan Festival in June 2016 has featured a series of concerts performed by ‘Tim Boulton and Friends’ in aid of Cornwall Music Therapy Trust. This year the concerts took place at St. Mary’s Church Penzance, with Rev. Sian Yates supporting the series by generously allowing the use of this beautiful building without charge. All […]

The top musicians from across the Royal College of Music, the Arcos Quartet, will be visiting Doubletrees School in St Austell to help the children understand the fun in making music with different instruments. Doubletrees caters for learners aged between 2 and 19 years who have complex needs. The Trust has supported music therapy at […]

The Trust is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a grant from Awards4All for music therapy to take place in the St Ives Bay area. Sessions will be with pre-school children who have additional needs, and their families, and will be held in the St Ives Bay Clinic, Hayle Children’s Centre and a […]

The winning entries to the 2015 St Piran’s Lullaby Competition have been announced by the panel of judges comprising Leslie Bunt, Professor of Music Therapy at the University of the West of England; Sam Parker, Head of Music at Helston College; Mark Pugh, editor of MyCornwall magazine and local mother Emma Collins. The winners are: […]

Cornwall’s music therapists got together on 9th June 2013 to play the first ever ‘gig in a gig’ in Falmouth harbour, Cornwall, UK. The gig was timed to promote Music Therapy week 2013 and promote awareness of music therapy and the work we are doing locally.

A 24 year old autistic man from Gwithian is just one of the hundreds of children and young adults with mental or physical illnesses, disabilities or emotional and behavioural problems whose lives have been transformed by the outstanding work being carried out by music therapists in Cornwall. Research shows that music therapy can help people of all ages with a wide range of conditions, […]

Case Studies

by Robin Bates, music therapist Of all the people I work with, there is one girl who can help me tell you what music therapy is about. She’s Bridget. A stunningly beautiful girl, eighteen years old. She has cerebral palsy, spends most of her life in a wheelchair, can’t move much and has no words. […]

by Music Therapist Matt Davis The CMTT funded a half-day per week pilot project to provide music therapy at Little Harbour Children’s Hospice in Cornwall. This work is now continuing through Children’s Hospice South West’s own music therapy provision. The work undertaken at the hospice is different to that which I normally do – for […]

by Matt Davis, Music Therapist Around a year ago I was visiting a six year old boy, John (named changed), in a special needs unit in a mainstream primary school in East Cornwall. John had been referred for presenting with Asperger’s type symptoms. John was articulate and was able to read, and liked books, which was often a distraction as the […]

by Music Therapist Robin Bates This boy, Gabriel, has just taken a big risk. He has just sung Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (TTLS) together with me in a music therapy group for seven children with profound and multiple learning difficulties in the Curnow School, Redruth. the look on his face, of excitement and exuberance, speaks of the terrific effort he has made The […]

by Music Therapist Robin Bates One of the most bizarre situations I can remember happened three months after I qualified. My first ever client in Cornwall was a little boy I’m calling Vyvyan, seven years old, who had cerebral palsy, was quadriplegic, had epilepsy. His parents had moved from London and were living in a tiny cottage at the head of Polwheveral Creek […]

by Liz Norman, Music Therapist I arrived at about 1.30pm, this time everyone was sitting indoors as it was raining outside. Becky and a couple of other members of nursing staff were sitting with the patients in the area at the top of the ward near the nurses’ station. There were two or three faces I knew from the previous […]

Testimonials

Retired farmer Eric (74) after a group music therapy session at Merlin MS Centre, Hewas Water

“I have seen music therapy open up the world to children with profound communication difficulties. For our pupils who cannot express themselves through language, special time shared with their music therapist enables them to express their emotions and share interactions using the universal language of music.”

Helen Collinge, Head Teacher, Treleigh School

“As well as having an opportunity to express their feelings, children having music therapy develop self esteem and social skills such as listening, turn taking and appropriate communication. All of this can transpose to the classroom and help enhance their learning experience.”

Dr Bob Coburn, Head Teacher (Retd), Curnow School

“Music therapy helped me express feelings I didn’t know I had.”

Paul, adult mental health patient

“My son’s attachment difficulties had catapulted the family into a whirlwind of extreme behaviour and emotions.
Two years of music therapy has transformed our lives.”

Parent of an adopted 5 year-old

“After experiencing domestic abuse, music therapy offered a mother and child an outlet for expressing their feelings in a safe environment, resulting in a happier, closer relationship.”

Childrens' Centre Worker

Upcoming Events

JUNE 23RD, 2019 1PM TO 6PM THE FALMOUTH HOTEL, FALMOUTH A musical, game filled, family garden party raising money for Music Therapy in Cornwall Featuring music from Teyr, Davey & Dyer, Kyle Coleman, Black-Eyed Nancy, Jordon Jane and Carrick Winds